RySenkari!! I could kiss you! Your idea worked… I don't understand it tho, my way always worked before…stupid FF… *shakes fist at fanfiction.net*
Anyway, here you go guys – a chapter you can actually read.
Entering dream sequence…
"Faye… I have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you just stay here on Earth, with me?"
"David!" Faye laughed, bestowing a quick kiss on the cheek of her frowning boyfriend. "Come on, we've been over this a million times."
"A million and three, to be exact," David retorted, reluctantly smiling. "If you were keeping count." Faye laughed again, sunlight playing over her silky hair as she tilted her head back.
"See? Even you realize how ridiculous you're being."
"I'll be pining for you Faye, withering away to nothing and you won't even think of me once when you're up there with your silly stars and planets."
"David, the trip only lasts three hours."
"Plenty of time to wither away."
"It was a birthday gift from my parents! A ticket on the first tourist shuttle into space…isn't it exciting? We'll coast past a super nova – at a safe distance, of course – head over to Mars, where they're beginning to build the first colony," Faye weaved her hand through the air, imitating the path of the shuttle, "then return to Earth's orbit, circle the moon once and land safely on the ground." Faye pressed her hand to David's chest and he captured it there with his own hand.
"I just worry about you," he said softly, gazing at her steadily.
"I know." Faye leaned against him. She felt a gentle pressure on her hand and looked up. A diamond sparkled on her ring finger. "David!" she gasped. "Are you…are you serious?"
"No, Faye, you see this is how I get my kicks… I pretend to propose to girls, then just when they get all flustered, I grab the ring and run – "
"David!" Faye growled, punching him in the stomach with the non-ringed hand, while still staring at the diamond on the other.
"Oooh," David groaned, doubling over. "This is why I have to run…girls are quite dangerous when they're being proposed to."
"Yes!" Faye said glowingly.
"I haven't even asked yet," David protested. Faye placed a hand on either side of his head and drew him down for a kiss. "Oh well, works for me," David said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you say we skip the wedding too and go straight to the honeymoon?" Faye hit him again, grinning. Then she was suddenly serious.
"David, there's something I have to tell you, and if you don't want to marry me, I'll understand."
"Faye, what?" David demanded, gripping her shoulders and searching her face.
"It's just…If we do marry," Faye placed a hand over her stomach, "we'll be starting off as a family of three." David's jaw dropped.
"Uh…come again?"
"I'm pregnant, David."
"What?! What are you doing…standing up!" he demanded, sweeping her off her feet and cradling her in his arms. "Hey, we need a chair!" he shouted at no one in particular. "I've got a pregnant woman over here!" Faye flushed scarlet, but laughed.
"David put me down!" He obeyed, after a moment's hesitation. "So…what do you think?" she asked when safely on her feet.
"I think there's no way in hell you're getting on that shuttle."
"This is why I wanted to wait and tell you after the trip," Faye said, groaning in frustration. "But…" The diamond ring on her finger flashed as it caught a ray of light. David's brow furrowed and he worried his lower lip. "David?" Faye asked hopefully. Her heart fell when he remained silent. "Well, everyone else has begun to board… You can give me an answer when I get back, okay?" Faye turned quickly, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. But when she began to move away, David caught her hand and pulled her back to face him.
"What answer is there to give?" he asked quietly. "This," he brushed his hand against her stomach, "only makes me love you more, it only makes us stronger." Faye cried out in relief, burrowing against him. David stroked her hair. "You'll see. Our life will be perfect. Another year of college and then we'll be married, with a baby! It will be perfect, Faye, just you wait and see."
"Last call for passengers!" Faye lifted her head and sniffed, wiping her face dry.
"I gotta go." She smiled up at David, her eyes radiant, and stroked his cheek lovingly. Then she pulled away and dashed over to the shuttle, the winds created by the engines of the shuttle whipping her hair across her face.
"I'm going to wait right here, Faye!" David called after her. "I won't leave until you're back in my arms, telling me you love me!" The engines roared as Faye climbed the stairs to the shuttle door. "Do you hear me Faye? Faye!"
Faye sat up in bed with a start, David's voice reverberating in dark silence of her room. Faye chest heaved as she tried to slow her breathing. "No dreams…" she gasped out, then rubbed her eyes blurrily and glanced over at her clock. 11:50 P.M. Something nagged her, nibbled at the corners of her brain. She was forgetting something…
"Fuck!" she breathed. Vicious, twelve o'clock on Mars…she just had ten minutes before he would come and – "No!" Faye leapt out of bed, grabbed her black boots and gun, and crept out into the hallway.
She tiptoed into the living area, heart quickening when she spotted Spike's still form. He slept on his back, dark, thick curls framing a pale face. Faye approached the couch and knelt cautiously, watching his chest rise and fall steadily. She passed her hand over his cheek in a mock caress, watching her fingers draw shadows on his face; she knew the lightest touch would bring him to his feet.
"Bye Spike." She mouthed the words and closed her eyes, forcing herself to turn away and stand up. Once at a safe distance from Spike, she abandoned silence for speed, pulling on her boots as she ran. Faye was about to enter the hangar when she was ambushed – something crashed onto her shoulders, knocking her to the ground. "Ed!" Faye raged as she glimpsed long, tan limbs and a mop of fuzzy red hair.
"Is Faye-Faye going to meet stranger-person?" Ed asked curiously.
"Yes," Faye growled, climbing to her feet, "I am. And I'm going to be late, so if you would please just – " An explosion rocked the ship and sent Faye flying backwards. She landed roughly on her shoulder, but immediately pushed herself up on her elbows and gazed around blindly as smoke filled the corridor. "Ed?" she coughed. Faye wiped her eyes, struggling to raise her aching body.
"Over here, Faye." Faye's throat tightened as a dim figure appeared before her, wrapped in thick smoke. It was Vicious, and he was carrying an unconscious Ed.
Faye glanced around her frantically, spotting her gun a few feet away. If she could just reach it… Faye gathered her strength and leapt, hands closing over smooth steel. She moved to raise her gun, but a heavy boot came down on her hand, crushing it against the metal floor. Faye cried out in pain and lost her grip. Vicious bent down with a smirk and picked the weapon up leisurely as Faye nursed her hand. "Now, now Faye," he murmured, hands running over the sleek gun lovingly.
"You said twelve o'clock," Faye told him flatly. Vicious knelt and set Ed on the floor carefully before gazing piercingly at Faye.
"I got impatient." Faye held his gaze for a tense moment, then reached out to check on Ed. Vicious caught her wrists roughly. "She's fine," he rasped softly. Faye looked down, searching Ed's still face. "Don't you trust me Faye?"
"No," she whispered. Vicious snarled and stood quickly, pulling Faye to her feet sharply.
"Why don't you give me the grand tour?" he suggested, turning her around and placing the gun at her back. Faye refused to move.
"What's the point of this?" she asked, turning her head slightly. "Why do this here?" Vicious twisted the muzzle of the gun into her back fiercely and pushed her forward.
"I was going to meet you at 3 Illyria Street…the opera house on Mars. Remember, Faye? It's where you and I first met after 50 years of separation." Faye lowered her head as guilt and remorse rose to her throat like bile. She continued to walk forward slowly and mechanically. "But then I decided I'd much rather kill Spike." Faye gasped sharply, eyes widening, and halted.
"No, there's no reason – " Vicious shoved her harshly, then grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her back when she stumbled forward. He pressed the gun firmly into her flesh and slipped an arm around her waist. "Don't get in the way, Faye," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. Faye twisted around suddenly, her face inches from his. The gun slid across her skin as she moved, finally digging into her stomach.
"Don't do this," she implored desperately. "We can go somewhere and…and talk. I'll never come back here, just…let's go now!" Vicious studied her silently, then lifted his arm from her waist and ran his fingers through her sleek hair, brushing a few strands behind her ear.
"Faye. You would pretend to care for me, to protect Spike?" He moved his hand away then whipped it across her face in a stinging slap. Faye cried out, head twisting painfully on her neck. "Keep moving," Vicious ordered, grabbing her by the arm and wheeling her around. Faye covered her cheek, the skin tingling and reddening where he'd hit her.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered as they approached the living room. "So sorry I did this to you…"
"It's too late now, Faye," he responded, his voice eerily calm. "Spike will die for your betrayal." They were close now – Faye could see the top of Spike's head on the armrest, one arm hanging limply over the side of the couch. How could he not wake up after that explosion? She had to do something, had to warn him –
Before she could open her mouth, Vicious shoved her up against the wall and fired two shots into Spike's head.
Two glass eyes
I'll fuckin tell you lies
I'm on the side of the road
You won't fuckin die
Yeah, yeah
Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
Pow
Fuck this road
Well, fuck you too
I'll fuckin kill your best friend
What you fuckin gonna do
Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
Pow
Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
Pow
Hehehe, I am so evil with my cliffhangers…rest assured, I'm working hard on ch. 19!
"Six Shooter" by Queens of the Stone Age